Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – On Tuesday, Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Border Patrol agents, with the assistance of Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), and Cameron County Constables Office, apprehended 54 illegal aliens at three stash houses in six hours.
This morning, RGV agents, working in conjunction with the Cameron County Constables Office, responded to a home in Brownsville, Texas, suspected of operating as a human smuggling stash house. Upon arrival, agents encountered 14 people, all illegally present in the United States. Agents identified them to be from the countries of Guatemala and Mexico.
Hours later, RGV agents received information of a residence in McAllen, Texas, harboring illegal aliens. Agents responded to the location and received consent to enter the residence and encountered four illegal aliens from the countries of Honduras and Mexico.
This afternoon, RGV agents received information which identified a house in Pharr, Texas, being used to harbor illegal aliens. Agents requested the assistance of HCSO and made their way to the location. There, they encountered an adultmale, later identified to be in the country illegally. During the encounter, the individual freely stated that there were 35 more illegal aliens inside the residence. The 36 illegal aliens were apprehended without incident. Amongst the group was an unaccompanied juvenile and a family consisting of a parent and child. The illegal aliens were from Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The conditions of this particular location were similar to other stash houses, where smugglers harbor numerous subjects in close quarters, to include removing furniture from the home to maximize floor space and occupancy. This residence was not much larger than a typical two-car garage and did not provide sufficient space for 36 people to social distance.
The unsanitary health conditions create potential health risks to those being smuggled, the law enforcement agencies that respond to these locations, and the general public. Agents have previously encountered COVID positive subjects inside stash houses.
Border Patrol will process all subjects accordingly.
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
 Border Patrol agents, with the assistance of Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), and Cameron County Constables Office, apprehended 54 illegal aliens at three stash houses in six hours.){kind=link}